Contract negotiations question- help please!

EmeraldLily23

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I do not have an agent, so am working with an IP lawyer. However, the attorney fees are high enough that I am trying to do as much on my own as possible and only leave the tricky parts for my lawyer.

If I could get a little insight to see how comfortable I am with this part, (and get lawyer's help if needed) I would really appreciate it :) If it's over my head I will definitely seek professional help from my attorney.

I know how important reversion of rights is. As of now my contract (not signed yet, of course) indicates grant of rights, for "life of copyright" which is a long time. There's a section about termination of contract, which among other reasons, I may terminate if sales fall below a certain amount in a certain time period. However, I believe based on my research that just means the contract is done, not that my rights are reverted back to me.

So, in the section on termination of contract should I just add in there that all rights will revert back to author upon termination of contract, or should I put something in the grant of rights section about a fixed-term with option to renew contract if both parties desire, instead of life of copyright?

Any insight? I don't want to give more details than that. The rest of the contract has been fairly straightforward and I'm pretty happy and confident they'll work with me so it's mutually agreeable. I just want to be sure I'm understanding what needs to be done before I spend my entire advance on fees ;)

Thanks, all.
 

Old Hack

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It's reasonable for rights to revert if sales fall below a certain level. What's important is that the level is defined, how those sales will be counted, and the steps you have to take to request reversion.

However, I'm really uncomfortable giving you advice here. That's what your lawyer is for; and without having read the full contract I can't be sure what it actually contains, which makes this particularly difficult.